West Yorkshire’s brightest budding Formula 1 prospect Jack Hawksworth will have the opportunity to take on two of his racing heroes this weekend – as he pits his driving skills against a couple of members of the current grand prix grid and bids to lift the fiercely-contested KZ1 World Cup crown.

“We’ve started to put it all back together again,” revealed the Bradford star. “My training has been relentless and I’ve got a new mechanic for the World Cup, Alain, with whom I’m working really well, so confidence and team spirit are high.

“We did two days of testing at Lonato which went really well; we spent time on the engine-side on one day and the chassis side on the other to work out what our best material is for qualifying and what’s best for the races. Both were very, very strong, and I felt I was driving better than I had been for the last couple of months too. We posted the fastest times we’ve ever done around that track – and quicker than all the other drivers there – so it looks like we’ve got a really good opportunity.”

Indeed, Jack could pick few better occasions for a return to form than the KZ1 World Cup, in which he will be one of just five British representatives at the very highest level of international karting amongst a field of some 76 competitors – the very crème de la crème of young talent around. What’s more, not only will the 18-year-old be up against the likes of reigning KF1 World and European Champion Marco Ardigò, defending double KZ1 World Champion Jonathan Thonon and five-time World Champion Davide Forè, but he will also be racing against a couple of other rather high-profile names into the bargain, with 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner Robert Kubica and Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 rookie Jaime Alguersuari returning to their roots for the one-off meeting at Sarno in Italy.

“This is the big one,” Jack recognised. “This can save the season. I’ve been waiting for this race all year – this is where it all really counts. Nobody has been wanting to show their cards too much in the WSK International Series; everyone has been holding a little bit extra back for the World Cup. I think we’ve done the best job we could possibly have done in terms of preparation for it, so I’m sure we can challenge for the podium.

“I really enjoy Sarno; it’s a great track, with a very long straight, some tight corners, some fast corners – everything really. I raced there back at the start of this year in WSK, and that went very well – I finished second in the pre-final, and was on-course for at least second in the grand final too until I broke down. I was very competitive there with PDB the year before as well. The only concern is how hot it gets, because it’s down by Naples and last year it was absolutely scorching, which can make it extremely tough.

“It will be nice to go up against drivers like Kubica and Alguersuari, but I have to view them as just two other competitors to be honest. If I do get to race against them wheel-to-wheel it will be fun, but I would hope to be a bit further up the grid than I imagine they’ll be, given they are returning to karting after a long time away. It would admittedly be very nice to put on my CV that I’ve beaten one or both of them, though...”

It would indeed, but Jack’s major focus for the weekend will be solely upon gunning for glory. With the majority of F1 drivers having cut their teeth in karting and gone on to achieve great things in the sport, he knows that a good result at Sarno would be a huge leap towards fulfilling his ultimate career objective.

“To win the World Cup would be amazing,” acknowledged the 2007 British ICC Vice-Champion and 2006 Junior Max European Champion and Junior Max Vice-World Champion. “I would see that as a massive step forward in my career. I could put a big tick next to the ‘Karting’ section of my CV if I won it.

“I don’t want to leave anything unaccomplished – one of my goals has always been to get right to the top of every category I compete in, and we’ll certainly be pushing very hard. Saying that, just to finish inside the top five would be something on its own, to show you’re one of the five best drivers in the world at the highest level of karting. That would be a great thing to be able to put on my CV, and I think it would open a lot of doors too...”

To keep up-to-date with Jack’s latest career news and results, please visit www.jackhawksworth.co.uk